


Dinner and a movie

by Stripytree



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, First Date, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Nothing bad happens and everything is nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 04:30:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8357245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stripytree/pseuds/Stripytree
Summary: The stars always made Remus feel so small and insignificant, but there was Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and there was the other Sirius, sitting next to him on a freezing cold picnic bench, the brightest star in Remus's sky, and he felt like maybe the universe didn't matter so much.





	

Remus stood in front of the mirror, trying to decide whether his hair was combed enough not to look like he had just crawled out of a ditch but not so much that he looked like an obsequious intern at a law firm. He shook his head and sighed, straightening up. This was ridiculous! He had known Sirius since they were eleven; the guy had seen him with his school jumper inside out and marmite on his chin, he was hardly going to care.

He plucked a cat hair out of his jumper (his one with the least holes, freshly laundered) and cast a last glance over his room, before grabbing a thick scarf to keep out the autumnal chill, and leaving the room, locking the door behind him.

 

A week before, while Remus was sitting on his bed writing an essay, his phone had rang, which hardly ever happened. It was Sirius. When he answered, Sirius hadn't bothered with a greeting and instead had said, very quickly, "Remus, would you like to go on a date with me?"

It took Remus a few moments to register what Sirius had said _(_ _Sirius_ was  _asking him out!)_ before he could manage a "yes," in reply. " _Yes!"_ he repeated, for good measure. "Where would you like to go?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead," Sirius said. "Dinner and a movie?"

They arranged to meet up in a town that was roughly the same distance from where both of them were staying, and have dinner at Pizza Express before going to the cinema around the corner to see Suicide Squad.

Remus wondered what had prompted Sirius to ask him out. They hadn't seen each other for three months, the longest they had ever spent apart, and now Remus was in his first term at university, studying English literature and Sirius had decided, after much deliberation, to go to an art college 60 miles away. Remus had told the marauders that he was bi in their fourth year (at roughly the same time as telling them he was HIV positive, actually), and Sirius had come out as gay at the end of fifth year. Remus conjectured that Sirius getting drunk was probably a factor in this latest development. 

 

"Excuse me, sorry, but is anyone sitting here?" Remus asked the woman who was sitting next to probably the only empty seat on the train.

"Oh, sorry!" She said, moving her handbag off the chair. "No, this seat's free." She looked at him, taking in his combed hair and clean shoes. "You got a hot date?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Remus smiled widely;  _he was going on a date!_  

"Yeah," he replied. 

 

As the train pulled into the station, Remus scanned the people on the platform. Where was he? Did he come? Yes! There he was, wearing a leather jacket and skinny jeans, hair in a ponytail. Remus's heart may have skipped several beats.

He wondered what he was going to say to Sirius, but it didn't matter because when he reached him, Sirius held out his arms for a hug. It was like their last hug, in that Remus could almost fit Sirius under his chin and Sirius always hugged very tightly, but it was also different. It seemed like there was even less space between them, and Remus could almost feel Sirius's heart stuttering next to his own.

"C'mon," Sirius said, moving back a little and grinning. "I've brought the bike!" Remus groaned.

 

"It's dangerous and absolutely terrifying."

"You know you love it really," Sirius replied, and Remus couldn't disagree, because it was true, he did love the exhilarating feeling of the wind rushing past him, and he also loved sitting right behind Sirius and holding on tightly to his waist.

They were sitting at a table for two in the restaurant. Sirius had ordered some olives with their drinks, and was eating them with the cocktail sticks (he ate all of them as Remus didn't like olives), and Remus was definitely not staring. 

Remus had thought that it would be awkward, and that he wouldn't be able to think of anything to say, but it wasn't like that at all. Talking was just as easy as it always had been at school, except now they had all the things that had happened over the past three months to talk about. 

Sirius was loving doing photography. He'd had something of an existential crisis this time last year, when they were supposed to be choosing their futures, and had decided to disregard all the careers advice he had been given (to work hard and apply his considerable academic talents to getting into a Good University and a Good Job, rather than let them Go To Waste), and go to art college instead.

Sirius told Remus various anecdotes from college, leading up to the story of _why now?_ which Remus had been wondering about. Apparently, Sirius had gone out with a group of people from college and someone had drunkenly tried to make out with him, and he'd had an epiphany, that actually the only person he ever wanted to be with was Remus. As soon as he'd recovered, he called him. Sirius told the story with his usual dramatic flair, managing to make their lives sound like a clichéd chick flick. To be fair, it kind of was.

Remus spoke about the library, which was even better than their old school library, and about how lovely the old buildings were. Sirius smiled fondly at him. 

They hardly even noticed the food they were eating.

 

Just before eight, they paid (Remus tried to insist on paying or at least splitting the bill, but Sirius had vouchers, and anyway, etiquette demanded that the person who did the asking out had to pay) and left. The air was cold outside, and Remus was glad he had brought his scarf.

They moved to hold hands at exactly the same time.

They reached the cinema and Remus bought their tickets from the ticket machine while Sirius bought some popcorn, and they entered the cinema about half way through the trailers. The cinema wasn't very crowded; the film had been out for a couple of months now. They selected some seats near the back and sat down, putting the popcorn on the armrest between them.

 

Remus didn't remember much about the film, but he did remember Sirius watching it, how he became completely engrossed, hardly blinking, and he did remember the way Sirius licked the popcorn salt off his fingers.

 

When the credits started rolling, they left, and emerged blinking into the brightly lit hallway that connected all the different screens. Then they went outside, and climbed onto Sirius's motorbike.

Sirius was supposed to take him back to the station, but he turned right instead of left at the junction. Remus wanted to ask where they were going, but they wouldn't've been able to hear each other through the helmets.

Five minutes later, they had stopped in the car park of a country park.

"Wouldn't it be closed at this time of night?" Remus asked, uncertainly.

Instead of replying, Sirius grinned and pulled Remus over to a picnic bench, and pointed upwards.

Remus's breath caught in his throat: it was a clear night and the stars were spread out above them and they all seemed so bright and cold and far away and beautiful. Each one of them was a million times bigger than the earth, and the earth was billions and billions of times bigger than a person.

The stars always made him feel so small and insignificant, but there was Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and there was the other Sirius, sitting next to him on a freezing cold picnic bench, the brightest star in Remus's sky, and he felt like maybe the universe didn't matter so much.

Remus looked down, at Sirius, and saw he was looking at him, and then Sirius leaned over and kissed him. 

Maybe it wasn't perfect, and they bumped noses and forgot to breathe, but to Remus it was amazing. He had been waiting for three years to kiss Sirius and now he  _was._ He shuffled along the bench so their thighs were touching and put his arms around Sirius's waist and Sirius reached up to put his arms around Remus's neck.

 

When they broke apart, Sirius laughed softly. "I thought this would be nicer than saying goodbye at the station," he said. 

"Mmmm," Remus replied vaguely, before going to kiss Sirius again.

 

They had to go, or Remus would miss his train. They briefly kissed goodbye before Remus got on the train. 

Remus had a carriage almost to himself, and he hummed quietly as he texted Sirius a smiley face before putting his headphones in and putting on an Of Monsters and Men album. He stared out of the window at the orange lights of the passing towns as the train headed north. He didn't know how their relationship was going to work, how they would manage a long distance relationship, but right now, he didn't care. He could still feel Sirius's smile on his lips.


End file.
